Leelanau County was expected to establish a "Land Bank Fast Track Authority" following action last week by the executive committee of the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners.

As part of its “consent agenda” this week, the board was slated to adopt a resolution outlining its intent to establish the new authority, which will be administered by the same group the county appointed last year to serve on the newly established Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA).

Establishment of a Land Bank Fast Track Authority will allow the county to take advantage of a wider array of grant programs, loan programs and special tax incentives that help pay for the cleanup and development of contaminated or “blighted” properties. A major project now being handled by the BRA involves the demolition, cleanup and redevelopment of the former county courthouse campus in Leland.
A Land Bank Fast Track Authority will give the county the ability to “quiet title” to certain properties slated for redevelopment, among other legal powers.

The head of the county’s Planning and Community Development Department, Trudy Galla, announced last week that the county BRA had recently brought in yet another payment of grant funding – some $200,000 for hazardous materials site assessments throughout the county. Leelanau County was one of 19 recipients in Michigan of the federal Environmental Protection Agency funding.

Last year, the county received another $200,000 grant for petroleum site assessment.

Also last week, on Galla’s recommendation, the county board approved changes to the “Leelanau County Enhanced Access to Records Policy.” The changes were proposed to tighten the reasons for requesting a waiver or reduction of fees for Global Information System data that Galla’s department gathers and manages for planning and mapping purposes. Language contained in an earlier fee policy made it possible for nearly anyone, including private enterprises, to request a fee waiver, Galla explained.